"The
L Word", Showtime's new skinematastic lesbian drama, stars the
round-eyed Mia Kirshner, whose latest role is only slightly more adventurous
than her last. (In "24," she was the frighteningly hot terrorist
who blew up the plane and then launched herself via a

parachute landing onto a motorcycle
in the middle of the desert). Kirshner plays a Midwesterner who comes to
Los

Angeles to live with her boyfriend,
Eric Mabius, a musclebound Mark Wahlberg lookalike swim coach. There she
finds herself smack in the middle of a lesbian subculture in something that
closely resembles the Silverlake neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Other characters in this world: Jennifer Beals as a rather uptight museum
director (it's true about what they say about "black don't

crack" -- she hasn't changed
a bit in the last 20 years) in a serious relationship with Laurel Holloman;
and Katherine Moening, the stunningly androgynous cousin of Gwenyth Paltrow,
who definitely stands on her own after her incredible performance in the
WB's Dawson's Creek summer spinoff "Young Americans". In that
WB show, she posed as a guy to go to an all-boys' school and, well, you
get the idea: think Abercrombie porn and you're on the right track. Katherine
plays the part

of "Shane", the bad girl lesbian who plays everyone and can't
commit to a "stable, girl on girl" relationship to the distress
of several chubby, short-haired extras.

What's immediately striking in "The L Word" is that this isn't
another "Will and Grace" or "Queer Eye For The Straight
Guy". First off, it's

about lesbians, and not stereotypical, mulleted
diesel ones, either. These women are hotttt, and moving away from the typical
mullety butch/prancing homo stereotype seems to be the one thing that makes
this show truly groundbreaking.

Shows like QEFTSG and W&G are simply dancing around the gay issues.
QEFTSG 's premise, while focusing entirely on straight men, is supported
by

their idiodit troupe of prancing clowns that should have been forgotten
about by now. While "Will and Grace" is all about gay stereotypes:
the 'clownish', 'fabulous' men and the flat-chested hag, even though it
was initially marked as a huge breakthrough by placing gay characters
into a more positive light -- it's just not an entirely accurate light.

"The L Word" offers a more refreshing point of view because
it

depicts a portrait of life in
the middle of a hipster lesbian "community." The show's perspective
is firmly within this lesbian environment rather than without. It's as direct
as "Chappelle's Show," in the way every single story fearlessly
tackles the touchy social issues, be it sexual orientation or race. This
is what's so edgy. "The L Word" is marketed in such a way that
it's easier to swallow for a straight audience, in the same way it's easier
for white people to watch the "Chappelle's Show."

(And Mr. Chapelle, in his brilliance,
has pointed this out, asking if it's actually risky if white people are
coming up to him and complimenting "that funny Nigger sketch.")

Now the hype is worn down about "The L Show," it's settling
into what it is: a strong enough show that will get its message across
no matter what. It'll survive the hype, at least for now.

We all know that Showtime is notorious for its T&A, even moreso than
Cinemax, and there's no avoiding the issue of "The L Word's"

use of extremely attractive women.
On the one hand, it's a departure from the old stereotype, but on the other,
it's possible this is a simple play to grab ratings from straight men. But
the quality of the drama is such that this question is rendered moot. Finally
there exists a 'real' drama, in the sense that it's a drama as much as "Melrose
Place" was, where our face isn't shoved into... um, the so-called 'taboo'
idea of lesbianism. The less said, the stronger the message. Whether 'gay'
shows are a

trend or not, we can hope that "The L Word" will provide us
with what we need: A higher class of lesbo-tainment.

"The L Word" may have been renewed, but it's still relegated
to the ghetto of a relatively unwatched cable network. Nonetheless, seminal
(if you'll forgive the word) TV shows like this are ahead of their time,
and, by paving the way for a new generation of gay-oriented dramas, will
no doubt produce popular offspring. It's not unlike how the extremely
short-lived teen cult favorite "My So Called Life" became the
blueprint for the entire WB network.

Initially these shows go unnoticed, or have a brief run through pop consciousness,
but they're what actually fuel and make possible the over-hyped ones of
tomorrow. If nothing else the next person making a show can have a point
of reference for the 'normal' show they're pitching.